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Maj. Matt Shaw has been named Officer of the Year by the S.C. Law Enforcement Officers’ Association, the fifth officer with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office to win statewide honors this year.
Shaw was recognized at the association’s annual conference in Myrtle Beach on Tuesday. He was nominated for the award by Sheriff Barry Faile.
“He serves this agency with 100 percent dedication,” Faile said. “He is here early, leaves late and responds to major incidents. He sets the pace for our employees.”

For the second time in 16 months, Republican Ralph Norman on Tuesday defeated Democrat Archie Parnell for the 5th District congressional seat – and this time it wasn’t a squeaker.
While the Lancaster County results weren’t official at press time due to a database issue involving paper absentee ballots, the incumbent from Rock Hill outpaced his Sumter opponent by a 19-point margin to win his first full term in the U.S. House.

Incumbent Republican Henry McMaster won the S.C. governor’s race in Tuesday’s voting, defeating Democrat James Smith and running mate Mandy Powers Norrell of Lancaster.
The GOP ticket of McMaster and Pamela Evette, his pick for lieutenant governor, received 571,135 votes, 54 percent of the total, as of 11 p.m. Tuesday. Smith and Norrell received 489,963, or 46 percent.
Turnout was heavy for a midterm election, with 34 percent of registered voters casting ballots statewide, as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.

VAN WYCK – The town of Van Wyck has geographically grown into the largest municipality in Lancaster County since its incorporation in August 2017.
Van Wyck Councilman Richard Vaughan said the town now includes 219 property parcels.
“The original incorporated target area was 1.4 square miles and less than 900 acres,” he said. “We have now reached approximately 10 square miles and 6,000 acres.”

The Lancaster County School District is installing cameras on school bus stop signs to catch drivers illegally passing buses whose lights are flashing and stop signs are extended.
“The bus stop arm cameras help us send a strong message that we’ll do whatever it takes to catch people who put our students at risk,” Superintendent Jonathan Phipps said.

Lancaster City Council incumbents are safe this election cycle, with District 5’s Hazel Taylor and District 2’s Gonzie Mackey easily winning their races Tuesday.
Taylor earned her first full term on Lancaster City Council, topping challengers Don Geraghty, Mike DeMarco and James “Butch” Flynn. She more than doubled the vote count of her nearest competitor.
Taylor received 258 votes, 55 percent of the total. DeMarco was the next top vote getter with 100 votes. Geraghty totaled 63, and Flynn trailed the field with 44.

A memorial service for fallen Van Wyck firefighter Dennis Straight will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at Second Baptist Church of Lancaster.
Straight, 59, was struck and killed while directing traffic after a wreck at the intersection of U.S. 521 and S.C. 5 last week. He was the assistant chief at Charlotte Road-Van Wyck Volunteer Fire Department and had been with the department for 20 years.
He was an active volunteer in the town of Van Wyck and at Andrew Jackson State Park.

“Nutcracker” returns to Lancaster this year with the Columbia City Ballet performing the Christmas classic about Clara and her adventures through the Land of Sweets with her Nutcracker prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy.
The magical ballet is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” a story that has enchanted children and adults alike since it was written in 1816.
William Starrett, executive and artistic director of the Columbia City Ballet, said this year’s performance will be bigger and better than ever.

The Indian Land Fall Festival entertained thousands of visitors at its 13th-annual event last weekend.
Featuring dozens of performers, hundreds of vendors and many festival rides and activities, the event was the largest to date. There were three main areas at the Indian Land schools complex, using the student parking lot, training field and stadium.

Lancaster County Council voted to rezone 45 acres in the Panhandle for a retail-office-residential project this week, despite strong pushback from council member Terry Graham, who argued that the county should first enact impact fees on new construction.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Graham was the lone council member opposing the rezoning request from Widewaters Land Co. on U.S. 521 property just south of Shelley Mullis Road.